City Reducing Speed Limits For Residential Street School Zones To 40 km/h

London drivers will soon have to slow down a bit more when passing through many of the city’s school zones.

City officials announced Friday plans to lower speed limits for school zones on residential streets from 50 km/h to 40 km/h over the next two years in a bid to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety, and to encourage more active lifestyles.

In a media release, the city said pedestrian safety was pinpointed as a priority by the Middlesex London Road Safety Committee in its “City of London Road Safety Strategy 2014-2019” – a strategy recently adopted by the city.

In a statement, Mayor Matt Brown said the speed limit reduction, spearheaded by Ward 10 Councillor Virginia Ridley, “contributes to making our city safer, healthier and more accessible.”

The city says a typical school zone starts 150 metres before a school property and ends 150 metres after a school property.

“Vehicle speed and pedestrian safety are some of the top concerns I hear from the community,” said Ridley in a statement. “By decreasing the speed around school zones we are increasing the safety for everyone.”

Implementation of the change has already started. New speed limit signs were installed this week near Jean Vanier Catholic School, Westmount P.S., and Saunders S.S., the city said.